Chapter 6
LUTHER
The ride to Lumnos was unbearably slow, but mercifully quiet.
With Cordellia and I united against her, Auralie relented to come on two conditions. First, we would walk away unless the Crowns agreed to everything the rebels asked. Second, since the Crowns invited the Guardians to attend, the Guardians they would receive.
Every last one.
And so, with a flock of hawks sent out across the continent and a fleet of ships pirated by the Meros rebel cell, we’d loaded up every willing Guardian in Emarion and set sail across the Sacred Sea.
Teller and I took to the sky on Sorae to keep watch from above. The Crowns were true to their word—for now, at least—and the army ships kept their distance.
The weather was clear, and Coeur?le was a splash of green on the horizon, tugging at my soul and making each mile in the opposite direction an arduous task.
Knowing I was hours away from confronting the people who had caged her had awakened a beast inside me.
I no longer feared what I might be capable of doing.
I was certain of it.
“It’s her birthday today.”
My gaze cut sharply to Teller. “Diem’s?”
“She makes an event of it every year,” he said.
“She wakes the whole family up and forces us to climb the roof to watch the sunrise. Then she prepares her special breakfast. Usually it’s dry and inedible, but we always lie and tell her it’s the best meal we’ve ever had.
One year, she insisted we all go swimming, even though the water was freezing.
Mother had to make a whole pot of hot cocoa to get us warm again.
I think that was D’s real goal.” He chuckled to himself. “That’s her. Anything for chocolate.”
I stared at him mutely, struck by the unexpected glimpse into a part of Diem’s life I’d never known. I often felt like my world had only begun when she stepped into it. To hear how full hers had been, how filled with joy and love . . .
Each word he spoke was a dagger, but I cherished every wound.
“We’d go into town and do all her favorite things, then we’d go home and pile in her bed, and we’d listen to her make up wild stories until we all fell asleep.
I used to tease her that she loved her birthday because it was all about her.
” His smile began to fall. “It wasn’t. It was about us. Our family. Spending time together.”
There was no way the Crowns could have been aware of the significance of this date. Only births of full-blooded Descended children were formally recorded, so mortal birth dates were known only to their families.
And yet, it felt too convenient, too coincidental. Like there were hands at play . . . but perhaps not the Crowns’.
“Teller, the other day, you said the Queen of Umbros was killed on the island.”
He nodded. “I think so. She was on the ground, and the Ignios King had a blade that was covered in blood.”
“Did you see Diem’s Crown? Did it look any different?”
“I was too far away to tell. Why do you—” He stiffened. “You think the Umbros Crown went to Diem?”
“Perhaps. She took the Crowns of Fortos and Montios when their Kings died. Your mother’s spies say the Centenaries have become unusually reclusive. If Umbros is without a leader, their Descended would want to keep that quiet.”
“Maybe that’s why the Crowns won’t let her leave the island. If she has four of the nine realms, one more will give her a majority.”
And then she’ll lead them all, I thought. As she was always meant to do.
I looked ahead to the nearing Lumnos shore. “Perhaps it’s time to deliver her a fifth.”
“You’re going to kill a Crown?”
“I’m going to free Diem. Whatever it takes.”
Silence fell between us, though I could sense my words had troubled him. He fidgeted, shifting his weight.
“You doubt my commitment?” I asked him.
“No,” he said quickly. “It’s not that.” His voice grew quiet. “Do you still believe I don’t deserve Lily because I didn’t stay in Lumnos?”
Guilt nipped at me for the shame in his voice. When Diem and I discovered Teller in Sophos, I had admittedly been angry, knowing his departure would break my sister’s heart. But I also knew my father had exploited Teller to further his own goals.
“Do you love her?” I asked.
“I thought I did.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I know what you did at the Challenging—pretending you wanted to Challenge Diem so you could throw the fight and make sure she lived. You loved her so much, you were ready to die for her. You would never walk away from her.”
“I almost did. Before the Challenging, I nearly agreed to a marriage I didn’t want in order to win House Hanoverre’s support for Diem.
I would have been miserable, and Diem would have been furious, but I would have done it, if that’s what it took to protect her.
” I dipped my chin. “Answer the question, Teller. Do you love my sister?”
Finally, he met my stare. “Yes, I do.”
“You would do anything to protect her?”
He nodded. “I would.”
“And you would never hurt her, unless it was the only way to keep her safe?”
Pain swept his features. “Only then.”
I clasped a hand on his shoulder. “Then you deserve her. And you have my blessing.”
He swallowed. “Do you think she’ll take me back?”
“I’ll be disappointed in her if she does—” His face fell.
“—without making you earn it first.” My lip curled up slightly, the first glimmer of anything good I’d felt since Diem left my grasp.
“You’ve lost Lily’s trust . . . so win it back.
Show her that you choose her, and mean it.
Then pray to the gods that she chooses you, too. ”
Sorae howled in warning, and both our heads swiveled downward.
Our fleet’s lead ship had arrived at the Lumnos port, and a long row of armed Descended had just emerged from the forest. Many wore the dark navy uniform of the Lumnos Royal Guard, while others wore the multicolored tunics of the Emarion Army.
Though the line stretched down the coast, I was surprised there weren’t more. With the Crowns gathered in Lumnos, I’d expected to be greeted by a militia fifty heads deep. Perhaps it was a show of good faith by the Crowns.
Or perhaps things were worse than we thought.
“Land, Sorae,” I ordered. Her wings tipped, and we began to descend. She seemed to read my plans right from my mind as she shot for the soldiers clustered by the pier, sending them scrambling aside as her talons slammed to the ground—and, more importantly, blocking their way to the mortals.
“Stay here,” I ordered. “If they attack, show them what dragonfyre can do.” Sorae rumbled her agreement as Teller and I dismounted.
The moment my feet touched Lumnos soil, my magic unleashed. Ropes of light and shadow twined around my fists and slithered over my chest, while a dome of shimmering blue rose at my back to shield the mortals. Soldiers went tumbling backward as my aura pulsed in an arc of pure, ferocious might.
My gaze swept across the line of Descended, many of whom I recognized, some I even called cousins. Their faces wore fear and judgment. My alignment with the Guardians had made me a traitor in their eyes.
“Are we going to have problems?” I asked in a low, heady growl.
“No, we will not,” a voice called from the forest. The ranks split to allow a woman to stride forward. She tucked her sharp-cut, dark blue hair behind her ear, the piercings across her face glittering in the sunlight as brightly as the heavy regalia draped across her chest.
“Your Highness,” she said tightly.
“High General,” I muttered back.
The last time I’d seen Alixe, she’d had Sorae in chains. The last time she’d seen me, I’d put a sword through her gut. Though we’d both been playing the parts Diem had asked us to play, the blood we’d drawn had been very real.
Sorae hadn’t forgotten, either. She arched her neck toward Alixe, a blue glow churning at her fangs.
Alixe eyed us both. “Welcome home. We have rooms prepared at the palace for the rebels. Though . . .” Her focus shifted to the fleet behind me. “We weren’t expecting quite so many.”
“We won’t be staying at the palace. We’ll prepare our own camp on the royal grounds.”
Alixe bristled. She took a few steps closer, though a hiss from Sorae stopped her short. She lowered her voice. “Where is Her Majesty? It’s vital I speak with her.”
My brows drew in. Alixe looked again at the arriving ships, her eyes squinting in search.
“The Queen is not here,” I said.
Alixe frowned. “She didn’t come for the meeting?”
I studied her carefully. Alixe could be masterful at concealing information, but she was never prone to playing dumb. “Where exactly do you believe Diem has been?” I asked.
“The Crowns said she fled with the Guardians. When you two didn’t return to Lumnos, I assumed . . .” As her lips slowly pursed, I knew she’d read the truth on my face: the Crowns had lied. To her, and to all of Emarion.
My magic trembled with building wrath. The Crowns were working against Diem even now. If everyone believed she’d been hiding while her realms were under siege, Descended and mortal alike would think her a traitor. Even if she got free, who would follow such a negligent Queen?
“Where is Her Majesty now?” Alixe asked.
I started to tell her the truth, then stopped. Diem had commanded Alixe to serve my father until she returned, even if it required putting Diem in danger. For now, that made her my enemy.
And enemies did not get information for free.
“That’s a matter I’ll discuss with the Crowns,” I said.
“I see,” Alixe said tersely. She clasped her hands behind her back. “I’ll escort you to the palace.”
“No need. I know the way.”